Thousands sign petition to stop the Welsh Government funding animal experiments

Martin Shipton

Campaigners against the use of animals in medical research are appealing for more people in Wales to sign their petition aimed at persuading the Welsh Government to stop funding such experiments.

Currently the petition has more than 7,700 signatures and it needs 10,000 by March 6 if it is to have a chance of being debated by Senedd Members.

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Medical research

Deb Davies, of Wales Against Animal Experiments, said: “We are calling on the Welsh Government to scrutinise the use of funds allocated to medical research, ensuring they are directed towards modern, human-relevant methodologies.

“Over 39,000 procedures on animals took place in Wales in 2022 - a slight increase on the previous year. Yet polls show that most people in Wales oppose animal research and testing, favouring alternative technologies.

“In the UK, most animal experimentation takes place in universities under basic or applied research, to further understanding of biology and disease. There is no legal requirement to use animals for these purposes. In Wales, animal experiments take place in four universities - Aberystwyth, Bangor, Cardiff and Swansea. It is unclear whether experiments are conducted in laboratories outside universities (such as charity or commercial laboratories), as since 2021 this data is no longer collected or published by the Home Office.”

Cardiff University faced fierce criticism in 2012 when it emerged that academics had conducted experiments in which kittens' eyes were sewn up and newborn litters raised in total darkness .

A statement on Swansea University’s website says: “Some research involving animals is conducted in the fields of animal welfare, behaviour and cognition, ecology and conservation, immunology and neuroscience.

The work our scientists undertake is governed and regulated by the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 (ASPA). ASPA regulates procedures that are carried out on ‘protected animals’ for scientific purposes that may cause pain, suffering, distress or lasting harm. ‘Protected animals’ are defined as all living vertebrates, other than a human, including certain immature forms and any living cephalopod.”

Ms Davies said: “Extensive research documents the failure in translating results from animal studies into treatments for humans in numerous disease areas. Such experiments, apart from causing unnecessary animal suffering, are time-consuming, costly, and prevent progress that could result from more human-specific methods.”

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Cross party groups

Ms Davies said she and her fellow campaigners were concerned that while cross-party groups at the Senedd and in Westminster had advocated that more money should be spent on medical research, they had failed to fully address the question of whether experimenting on animals should be permitted.

The Senedd’s Cross Party Group on Medical Research (CPG) maintained in its 2023 inquiry report that medical research is seriously underfunded in Wales. But Ms Davies said: “The Welsh Government is being urged to incentivise the sector, increase its own quality related funding to universities and attract more charity-funded medical research to Wales. However, some of the highest charity funders in Wales - Wellcome Trust, Cancer Research UK, Versus Arthritis and British Heart Foundation - conduct or pay for experiments on animals.

“The expansion of the life sciences sector, without scrutiny of how the money is spent, should be a cause of concern to the Welsh people, as public funded research is paid for primarily through taxation. The economic benefits promised by the CPG in its inquiry report would be multiplied by investing in innovative science such as organ-on-a-chip, 3D bioprinting, and computer modelling. It is these technologies, based on human biology, that can boost the economy, strengthen our NHS, and deliver for patients.

“Given the new Labour Government’s manifesto pledge to ‘partner with scientists, industry, and civil society as we work towards the phasing out of animal testing’, and a 2023 letter from the Chair of the Government advisory body, the Animals in Science Committee, which stated that ‘the UK is at a significant juncture in the use of animals in science and the drive to accelerate the development and uptake of non-animal methods’, it seems an ideal opportunity for the Welsh Government to modernise research in Wales.

“By scrutinising how its financial contribution is used and directing funds to human relevant methods, the Welsh Government can set an example and encourage industry and the charitable sector to follow suit.”

The petition can be signed via this link